Mack Horton gave a shout out to Gina Rinehart at the Olympic trials

NORMALLY athletes thank their parents and their coaches, but Australian swimming’s bright young star had someone else he wanted to mention.

SWIMMING AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

MACK Horton is a future star of Australian swimming.

The 19-year-old will carry Australia’s hopes in the 1500m at the Rio Olympics later this year after winning the final of the long distance event at the Australian Olympic qualifiers in Adelaide on Thursday night.

He swam a time of 14 minutes and 39.54 seconds to cruise to victory, bettering the great Kieren Perkins’ time of 14:41.66 set at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Canada.

But it wasn’t just his swimming that had people talking.

He was one of several swimmers to thank Gina Rinehart for her support of Australian swimming when speaking on Channel 7’s coverage of the event. The mining magnate owns a significant percentage of Hancock Prospecting — an iron ore mining company — that sponsored the recently completed meet.

Mack Horton hijacks dead air time on TV to thank fans, sponsors, Gina Rinehart for backing swimming & Ch7. He's 19. What a leader.

— Todd Balym (@balym_GCB) April 14, 2016

It's not called swimming anymore, it's called Rinehart. #RoadToRio

— Jodie Christ (@Jodiechrist) April 14, 2016

Mack Horton swimmer just thanked Gina Rinehart for hanging around the swim champs. He needs a history lesson.

— WeNeedToWakeUp (@AlohaMsLonesome) April 14, 2016

I've never heard as much collective positivity about Gina Rinehart than at this #AusChamps16 #moneytalks

— Marc McGowan (@Marc_NTNews) April 14, 2016

Maybe Horton and the others are genuine fans of Rinehart’s work, or maybe they’re just getting into the habit of thanking sponsors for throwing oodles of money at them and their sport — something professional sportsmen and women have to do more and more of these days.

As well as sponsoring the meet in Adelaide, Rinehart’s passion for water sports was evident in the fact Hancock Prospecting also had the naming rights for the Australian Synchronised Swimming Championships in Perth.

A press release congratulating the traditional swimmers on their efforts also contained an invitation for the synchronised swimming team to visit her company’s base in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

We wonder what destination they’ll prefer — Pilbara or Rio.

Horton is in top form.

Horton had already made Rio rivals sit up and take notice with a world class 400m freestyle win on the opening night of the eight-day trials.

He produced a 3:41.65 PB to claim 400m freestyle gold.

He overtook Grant Hackett to move to No. 2 on the Australian all-time list to trail only the great Ian Thorpe.

The 400m win earned selection on his first Olympic team.

Now Horton has turned heads again with a fitting finale to the Olympic selection meet with his scorching 1500m time.

“It was faster than I thought it would be,” Horton said.

“Come Rio I want to get it right.” As a teenager Horton is already rubbing shoulders in the record books with some of the sport’s greats.

After a remarkable recovery from a gastro bug that sabotaged his 2015 world titles campaign, Horton now wants to put his name on top — in both the 1500m and 400m.

“It would be nice to be the fastest Australian in the 400m and 1500m,” Horton said.

Horton’s eyesight is so bad that without his glasses or goggles he could “barely see my hand in front of my face”.

So it was understandable Horton did not want to look too far ahead, balking at making Rio 1500m predictions.

“I’m aware of the significance of the event but I don’t want to put that pressure on myself,” Horton said.

“Australia has a ridiculously good history in the 1500m but I am just trying to do my own thing and be the best I can be.”

Campbell has been a star performer at the meet.

23-year-old Cate Campbell has also continued her impressive form, capping her remarkable Rio selection campaign by claiming 50m freestyle gold in an Australian record 23.84 seconds on Thursday night.

It shattered her own national mark set in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

And it was 0.11 shy of the world record mark set by German Britta Steffen (23.73) in the 2009 supersuit era.

She had already earned selection for her third Games by claiming the 100m freestyle title in 52.38 — her fastest time since claiming the 2013 world title.

That two lap effort was also just 0.31 short of Steffen’s 100m world mark.

Campbell — once considered a 100m specialist — was ecstatic, but suddenly conflicted.

Asked what was now her favourite event ahead of the Rio Games, she said: “Choosing between the 50m and 100m is like choosing between your children.

“I have favourites on different days.

“I will concentrate on all of them.

“I am not going to think it’s 100m or nothing.”

— with Laine Clark, AAP

Originally published as Mack Horton gave a shout out to Gina Rinehart at the Olympic trials